Bankruptcy Credit Reference File Clean Up - Discussion

the situation with a secured debt such as a mortgage is slightly more complicated.

• If you carry on paying your mortgage, not falling into arrears, then a default should not be recorded.
• If you have stopped paying the mortgage before bankruptcy or when you go bankrupt and a default should be recorded with the bankruptcy date.
• If you initially carried on paying the mortgage after bankruptcy but later stopped, the default date should be the date you went bankrupt, see ICO guidance in 2007 which stated:
  “[paragraph 14] [If the loan has been included in a bankruptcy] the default should be filed in accordance with the guidance in paragraphs 47 – 48
  [paragraph 48] If the customer stops payment at a later stage, the default recorded should show the date of the IVA or bankruptcy and the fact that it was settled only by IVA or bankruptcy…”
  

3) Problems with mortgage debts
It can be harder to get mortgage lenders to correct a date. If the lender has recorded the default date as being the date your house was repossessed not the date of your bankruptcy, you should include in your letter the quote from the ICO guidance in 2007 that is given above.
However it seems that the ICO is failing to apply its own guidelines with this type of situation – if the ICO rejects your complaint, you should complain to the Financial Ombudsman. Here are two cases where the Financial Ombudsman has upheld the complaints, applying the rules about dates as they are described in this article: HSBC mortgage case and Platform mortgage case.